High school is strange time for most of us. We think we know everything, we want to be cool and idolized, and we conform to fit in, even if conforming really means doing something stupid, like smoking.
Still, as high schoolers, we thought all of this was cool. We did all sorts of stupid or inappropriate things, and either justified them, or didn’t even realize they needed to be justified.
However, we all grow up. Things we thought were cool as high schoolers are absolutely cringeworthy to us now. Redditors are only too eager to share what those things are.
It all started when Redditor crypto_wut asked:
“What is cool in the eyes of most high schoolers but is actually cringe?”
Uselessness Of High School Hierarchy
"Being popular for the wrong reasons. As soon as you graduate that starts over. Better not to rely on being popular and prepare."
– Hamfiter
"I remember this guy in high school who had a fearsome reputation. Him and his cousins would show up at parties, literally say, "Do you know who I am?" and attack people. People were terrified, and rightfully so, people were getting severely hurt."
"Anyways, I was in 11th grade, he was in 12th."
"Once he graduated high school, he would come swing by the high school often, smoke out front with his "friend's" and talk about how it was so great to graduate, he didn't have to get up early or do anything, etc. At first, everybody was like, "Cool, lucky!" and then it was like, "Heh...let's go back to class...""
– lazarus870
"I'm Real Grown Up!"
"Telling people how mature you are"
– pineapplewin
"When I was in high school there were some girls in one of my freshman/sophomore classes bragging about how mature they were because they had boyfriends who were older and would invite them to college parties. Like...no, your boyfriends are losers and you're just naïve.
– ArcticFox46
Teach Yourself To Be Kind
"Being rude to teachers. Every person who I know who was rebellious in school cringes hard when they think about the sh*t they said to teachers."
– WowThisIsAwkward_
"Being jerks to the teacher who just tries to do his\her job."
– Greedy-Ad-189
Not JUST A Prank
""It's just a prank bro" no, you're being an a**hole"
– bzaroworld
"I like to use the pie in the face test. Does it cause the person more inconvenience than a pie in the face, under normal circumstances? If yes, then it's not a prank, it's a crime."
– indrada90
Feel What You Feel
"Worrying what other people think. The concept of “cool” in the first place."
"My brother and I (in our early 30s) were watching a group of teenagers trying so hard to put on this cool, unemotional facade at Disneyland while everyone else around them just enjoyed themselves and we were laughing to ourselves that teenagers are so afraid of displaying emotion or passion and nobody else cares. But we all went through it, and we all reach the realization that it’s more fun to just enjoy ourselves."
– Objective-Ad5620
Louder and Louder
"Being loud and obnoxious everywhere they go. Like dude no one thinks you’re or your friends are cool over there yelling penis because you think it’s funny."
– Activ_RefRigeRatoR
"I own a store kids frequent and I have had to tell them more than once to shush. The volume got so loud once an actual PAYING customer was uncomfortable."
– CalliopeKB
Be Who You Are...
"Doing things to gain other peoples approval.."
"Seriously, when you grow up and stop giving a f**k about other peoples opinions, life is so much better"
– EndlesslyUnfinished
...And Not Who You Aren't
"Being 'edgy' and 'offensive' just for the sake of it."
"Yeah, we get it. You think that mocking dead people or posting racist/sexist stuff on social media makes you a tough edgelord not to be f**ked with. No, it just makes you look like a complete tryhard."
– AlysonMazzoni
They Are
"Most high schoolers."
– Bacontoad
"Yup. The most awkward demographic that uses grunts to communicate."
– Pimp_Daddy_Patty
"I was gonna say “the word cringe” but yours’ better"
– jamieleeght
Faking It
"Pretending to have some type of disorder, like that makes them special. Like some how everyone has multiple personalities now, one of the rarest disorders of it's kind and everyone and their cousin suffers from it."
– Top-Sprinkles6929
"Faking mental disorders and saying “OMG I HAVE DEPRESSION I AM SO QUIRKY” IN THAT EXACT SENTENCE"
– w0rms1nMyEy3S
That last one is pretty sickening. It’s a good thing high schoolers grow out of it.
We've all displayed embarrassing behavior or actions at one point or another, and we can't seem to shake off the regretful moment.
It just replays in our minds like an endless boomerang.
We are equally embarrassed for those who may have done something spontaneously foolish and have no clue of the mortifying impact of their actions.
It's called cringe, and strangers online had plenty to say about the all-too-familiar phenomenon when Redditor brownGoddess01 asked:
"What is something you find REALLY cringe?"
There is a time and place for things. That doesn't mean the unspoken rule is broken.
Indecent Proposal
"A disastrous engagement during someone else's wedding."
– piglalopa
"El Diablo"
"This happened at my cousins wedding. My other cousin was proposed to by her bf during the reception. The cousin getting married eventually got a divorce and the cousin who was proposed to never got married. My grandma went to her grave calling the guy who did the proposal 'El Diablo.'”
–iamtommynoble
Inappropriate Declaration Of Love
"I used to work wedding receptions. One time during the speeches I witnessed the best friend of the bride profess his love to her, in front of the groom and everybody. It was one of the most awkward/cringiest moments I’ve ever witnessed."
– aande116
There are some things we do that we can't take back.
How Far We've Come
"my past self."
– atermoiment
"That means you’ve grown. Respect."
– joeybagofdonuts80
The Moment We'd Like To Forget
"My mind randomly replaying an embarrassing moment I've done that I want to forget."
– mokimika
Audio Playback
"Listening my recorded voice."
– No-Carrot8948
Some people love living their lives on camera. Some participants don't have a say in the matter. And others just don't wanna see it.
All The World Is A Stage
"Family bloggers. Constantly having your life recorded as a child can really f'k you up. Especially since a lot of the time the parents are just using their children for content."
– guitarcum
Overzealous Parents
"I will extend this to normal people who post every second of their child’s lives, they often hide under ‘it’s so my family can see it’ but it’s not really, is it? Or else you’d have an account just for family not your 900 additional ‘friends’"
– Potatopugz
Crying You A River
"Recording yourself crying on social media."
– satinaboupoupou
Selfie Time
"when individuals share sobbing selfies. No joke, when my friend's sister and her children put their dog to die, she tweeted selfies of them both crying. and the deceased dog."
"Like, is it a private moment of mourning and not a chance for a selfie?"
– Perfect-Respe
Click Bait
"All these 'prank' videos getting millions of views."
"Edit: To be specific, I’m referring to 'prank' videos that are clearly staged."
– Beard341
Unsolicited Life Coach
"People whose lives are an absolute self-induced disaster and post selfies with motivational quotes telling other people how to think and live."
– i_want_that_boat
Being in the entertainment industry and knowing how humbling it is when there are more rejections than there are bookings, we tend to be our own worst critics.
So there's nothing more cringey than revisiting an old recording of myself performing at a high school talent show when my interest in theater was fresh and exciting and I already thought I was a pro.
Unfortunately for teenage me, I was blissfully unaware I had ways to go before honing my craft.
Let's just say that all those old VHS recordings of me performing an imitation of Michael Crawford as the Phantom of the Opera need to be burned.
People Explain Which Things They Find Incredibly Cringeworthy That Others Don't Seem To Mind
I had to stop watching talent shows years ago because while I got to see some really enjoyable acts—especially singers, of which there are a seemingly endless number—I grew sick and tired of how scripted everything felt.
For one thing, I hate overt sentimentalty because it can ring very false, and that's how I've felt whenever I've had to sit through any sob stories. Everyone has a sob story.
The music swells and immediately we'll hear about someone's cancer diagnosis or the fact they lost their house due to foreclosure or that their father died and that afterward they found bodies in his shed and learned he was a notorious serial killer...
Okay, that last one might have been made up. But my point stands.
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor TheCheeto4 asked the online community:
"What is something that you find incredibly cringe, but you think other people wouldn't?"
"You just reminded me..."
"You just reminded me of those Facebook posts that give instructions to prove who is/isn't a "real friend", always ask you to share afterwards. Like a copy-paste friendship test."
Ovesper0
I never bother with those. I always ignore them and I'm okay with that.
"People exaggerating..."
"People exaggerating how quirky, different or relatable they are."
[deleted]
You just described every manic pixie dream girl in Bushwick.
"People singing..."
"People singing at me. I have no idea what to do and feel cringe the entire time. Some people love just having people sing to them though."
FierceDragoon
Many people feel super awkward when this happens... especially when it happens in a restaurant... on their birthday.
"Starting a Go Fund Me..."
"Starting a Go Fund Me the second news of a tragedy gets out. There was an accident by me, and there were two competing GFMs fighting over who was closer to the victim."
coolbeansfordays
They do that so they can skiff the funds. People have no shame.
"I couldn't fathom..."
"Public vlogs. I couldn't fathom walking around the city holding a camcorder on a stick and talking to myself."
[deleted]
I hate them and don't understand why people would watch some rando walking around, going about his day. No thank you.
"The judges..."
"The judges crying on those talent shows on TV."
14012387504
Sob stories always increase your chances of entering and lasting longer on those shows.
"I love..."
"I love that unspoken thing where talent show judges act all surprised that the ugly person actually has a great voice!"
nardpuncher
The Susan Boyle effect (and she wasn't even all that great to begin with, but it's the perfect example).
"Dating profiles..."
"Dating profiles and bios. I just can’t not feel weird about advertising my self to randos."
User Deleted
Always awkward. Even worse when you meet someone interesting and they are nothing like their profile at all.
"Turning on music/singing loudly in public places. I always listen to music in my headphones."
VladSolopov
I would never. It's the height of rudeness.
"If someone is going..."
"Filming yourself doing acts of kindness. If someone is going to do something nice for me, and they film me and post that online I’ll be pissed."
damnedpancakes
It's everywhere. Social media is a pain.
Remember the last time you cringed to some of these? You probably do. It's the worst, isn't it?
Have some cringeworthy moments of your own to share? Tell us more in the comments below!
There are just some actions we never grow out of.
When it's time to grow up... grow up.
Let's discuss the signs and scenarios we should know about.
Redditor Grouchy-Trip9582 wanted the grown ups reading to listen up and act their age.They asked:
"What is a childish behaviour adults do that makes you cringe?"
Why do some children behave better than adults? It makes no sense. Let's hear some explaining.
Simple Answer
Oh No You Didnt GIF by happydogGiphy"Getting mad when someone tells them 'No.'"
lurklurklurkPOST
Walk Away
"At the bakery where I work, we offer free cookies to kids under 12 as long as they have a parent with them. As you can imagine, we run out quickly. I've seen a couple of adults scream and cry after telling them we've run out of cookies, like I've just run over their puppy or something. The kids usually just shrug it off and walk away."
pelovo2727
Tantrums
"Yelling at their children on the subway basically having a tantrum as the actual child silently stares or spaces out."
hereforalittle89
"It’s the most upsetting reaction for me to see when a kid is being yelled at, honestly. Because most of the time you just know it’s such a common happening and they’re so used to it this is the way they cope."
"I know I’m not a perfect parent and I lose my temper here and there but I truly hope I don’t get to this point or where others see me as this type of parent. I think a lot of those parents, though, are also victims who haven’t figured out how to end the cycle of abuse/poor treatment. It is how they were raised so it is all they know and that is also sad. Trauma creating more trauma. :( "
slynnc
Nasty
"Getting mad at or demeaning cashiers/fast food workers."
Zombie_Woot
"I wouldn't even call this 'childish' behavior, because kids generally don't even do this. It is only done by overly-entitled adults with superiority complexes and impulse control."
samanime
Oh Ma...
uh GIFGiphy"My mother sticks her fingers in her ears and goes 'lalalala' whenever someone is proving her wrong. All the time. Consistently."
SuzaFaber
Oh, I've lost track of how many times I've met these people. How are these adults?
Sorry
Sorry Lebron James GIF by UninterruptedGiphy"The inability to apologize/admit when they are wrong... I just think it's so strange. Like... No one expects you to be perfect."
ContractLittle8444
Own Up
"Blame others instead of taking responsibility for their actions."
Ok_Chocolate3253
"When people refuse to take accountability it is literally the worst. Even something as simple as, 'My God, you’re right. I’m so sorry I’m not sure what I was thinking.' Can really do so much to repair and mend relationships with others."
GeraldoLucia
"This is not childish, this is manipulation."
MiloLeoCat
Sales
"I was at Sports Authority for the final clearance sale. They had three weeks left until their doors closed for good so there were only about four employees left on staff and they had all completely run out of f**ks to give. Well this one lady pushes her way to the front of the line saying 'I had to wait so long to get help out there I shouldn’t have to wait in line.'"
"The woman at the register ignores her and continues to check out a different customer. Impatient lady tosses her things on the counter so the employee pushes them to the side and says 'I can help the next person in line' naturally impatient lady loses it completely, yelling at the employee; you know the drill 'speak to your manager, customer is always right, call corporate, I’m a busy woman with places to go' entitled person's greatest hits."
"The manager walks over to defuse the situation impatient lady starts yelling and the guy behind her in line (whom she cut in front of) steps in to explain she tried to jump the line and the cashier was just helping those who had already been waiting."
"The cashier looks at her manager with a ‘what are you gonna do? Fire me?’ Face. The manager looks at impatient lady and says 'you can either wait in line like everybody else or you can leave' she looked for a second like she was going to explode but just stormed out. It was amazing watching retail workers be able to say the things you know they wanted to say to every difficult customer."
visoge2723
Inside Voice
"Having a screaming match like kids on playground."
Quirkyserenefrenzy
"Some of my neighbours are like this, having huge screaming matches in the parking lot of their building or out on their balcony. It's like they want the world to witness their argument, which makes it feel extremely performative. Like they're not arguing because of a real disagreement, they're arguing for the benefit of their audience. I can't even raise my voice in public, so this mentality is very alien to me."
socksnchachachas
Go Away
Phaedra Parks Bye Felicia GIFGiphy"My mom’s piece of crap boyfriend flipping over a table and storming out of a restaurant because they wouldn’t give him a discount for some bulls**t reason he made up. He was always asking to talk to the manager to get discounts and free stuff. Usually he’d get it too because those people aren’t paid enough to deal with angry morons like him. He died a few years ago fortunately."
kacidon133
Did y'all read carefully? Grow up.
We must learn to call out our own.
And not be so ridiculous about it.
We have to admit when our own people are being too much, and we must take them to task.
So let's spill some tea... about Atheists.
Because any and all faith and non-faiths count.
Redditor Indianfattiewanted to hear from all the non-believers out there about the times when their own tribe bothers them. They asked:
"Atheists of reddit, what's something other atheists do which makes you cringe inside?"
I waffle with religion. That's good old Catholic guilt for you. So the atheists intrigue me.
come on dude...
Joan Cusack Seriously GIFGiphy"My former classmate goes out of his way to defy anything laid down by religion. He said since Sundays were historically holidays for praying, he doesn't give them in his startup. Gives Mondays off instead. Like come on dude."
User deleted
Blessed
"Get mad at little stuff like 'bless you.' I say 'bless you' and it's just a common courtesy when someone sneezes. I've had a people say 'I'm an atheist.' Congratualtions, I am also."
mkicon
"Tons of religious people in the south and tbh when a nice religious person tells me 'have a blessed day' I always smile and say 'you as well' because they were being freaking nice to me and it’s a freaking nice thing to say back. That’s it. No other reason. Still atheist. Not compromising my beliefs (or lack there of). Just being freaking nice."
shampoo_mohawk_
Expressions
"I'm an atheist and sometimes I use 'Jesus Christ' or 'Jesus f**king Christ' as an expression for shock. I was never even Christian, nor was anyone around me growing up (born and raised in a Jewish community). It's just an expression that's intuitive and people get."
-temporary_username-
"Well to be fair, if you were Christian then using his name like that would actually be blasphemous."
MiniDemonic
Identity
"Identifying as an atheist is what gets people. No one enjoys people who feel they are morally and intellectually superior to others, religious or non-religious. Rudeness knows no bounds. Advertising your atheism is just as annoying as someone advertising their religion."
forman98
Sharp Dislike
Parks And Recreation Thumbs Down GIF by HULUGiphy"Getting mad at other atheists who defend the right for religious people to believe what they want. I’ve had this happen to me way too often and it makes me realize why so many people dislike atheists."
godofcyanide
Everyone is so touchy on these matters.
We get it...
"I don't get it."Giphy"Preach about how they are atheists... like a religion."
Rogurzz
"collective responsibility"
"I got banned from r/atheism because one of the mods was trying to say that all Muslims are morally responsible for the actions of terrorists who are Muslims. I said that the idea of 'collective responsibility' is one of the first steps towards fascism."
"He said that a Muslim waking up and deciding to not renounce their religion every morning was the same thing as a Nazi going out in public with a red Swastika armband. He banned me and deleted half of my comments so that it looked like he 'won' the argument."
Diet_Coke
Leave Others Alone
"Trying to get religious people to give up on their beliefs, it also annoys me when religious people try to get me to believe, just let people believe in what they want."
dreamingsmallish
"The most militant preaching I have ever encountered was from an atheist trying to get me to give up on my belief in some kind of nebulous higher power. Not even the God of the Bible or any other codified religious text just a higher power in general."
Educational-Candy-17
Know it All
"There's a lot of good answers that have already been mentioned by others, so I'll add something different: When they think they know how all religions work because they grew up christian. I see so many people making judgments about islam and judaism that are just completely wrong but they believe that since it applies to christianity it must apply to all religions."
sunsetgal24
Source of Evil
Saoirse Ronan Ash GIF by A24Giphy"Telling religious people what they believe (like quoting the Bible/Quran) so they can go on to tear it down, while the religious person is just like, 'I don't believe that.' Also, believing that religion is the only source of evil in the world, and that without religion we'd all be living in peace and harmony. As if humans can't be evil without religion."
Solesaver
"god bless"
"The way I always look at it is the intention behind it. Just because I don't believe in their God or a god I'm not going to ever chastise someone for praying for me or saying 'god bless' or whatever. If their intention is to wish me a good trip, a safe trip, or good health then whatever, thank you for the good wishes."
"I could care less if the god was the christian God, a Hindu God, or anything. I'll take the good intent and hope it f**king helps. Now if they wanna pray over me just because I do not believing in their god and they want to 'save my soul' then that turns into an entirely different thing."
ScreamSalvation
Harmful
"Being a d*ck to someone religious for no good reason. If the person doesn't bother you, don't be a d*ck to them."
Kaiser93
"I don't know what you classify as bothering. Christians that believes LGBTQIA+ people are sinful and deserve to go to hell are terrible and they should know they are terrible people. There is also so many harmful ideas in religions that deserve to be crap on."
zenntanio
Logic?
"Their thinking that being an atheist means that the rest of their thoughts are all correct. Nope. That's just laziness masking as sophistication. The rest of your thoughts on politics, economics, nutrition, relationships still need to have a rigorous logic applied to them or an admittance it's an irrational belief system. Which is fine either way."
Thin_Low_2578
unfunny clowns
clown GIF by Team CocoGiphy"Going apes*it everytime a religious person talks about/acts according to their belief in a totally harmless way. Not every atheist does this but those who do are unfunny clowns that should shut up."
SadChip779
Deeply Devoted
"Disregarding others’ choice to believe in a religion. I have many religious friends and though I never found any sense in religious belief some people do and are very devoted to it. In my books, as long as your religious belief doesn’t make you a fanatic or someone who oppresses minorities belonging to other religions you do you."
“'The way you see a rock is very different from how I see it.' To accept each other’s varying vision of the 'rock' (or life) can lead to a peaceful Co-existence."
frxgmnts
Shameful
"Complaining about harmless religious practices that don't impact other people. It's one thing if someone's using their religious beliefs as an excuse to control or shame others, but it's cringey when someone gets upset just because someone else likes to pray or spend a day at their house of worship."
upvoter222
why are they mad at me?
"Going out of their way to disrespect someone else's beliefs. Stuff like 'I got invited to dinner at my Muslims friends house, but since I'm atheist I brought pork, why are they mad at me?' or smaller stuff, correcting someone who says bless you after a sneeze. Same goes for the other way around too, I once had a religious boss who didn't give Christmas off to any employee who he found out was atheist because 'they can't celebrate it anyway.'"
zykthyr
It’s not my business...
"Disrespecting religious people. I don’t believe in God or whatever. I’ll argue if someone tries to tell me it’s a fact. But I also let people do whatever religious stuff they’re into, like daily/weekly worship, dietary restrictions, religious clothing, etc. without bothering them. It’s not my business."
Pandaburn
Superior
powers nun GIFGiphy"Imply they are intellectually superior to people with any kind of belief. Such a dips**t behavior."
dudurossetto
biblical literalists...
"Ex-Christians from families that were biblical literalists, because not all christians are like that, e.g. my parents believe in the Bible but also evolution, and my dad (they’re christian btw) says that most of the old testament is not entirely accurate as it was passed down orally for a freaking long time. So atheists who say that all Christian’s are the same/believe the same thing really annoy me (I’m an agnostic atheist)."
ennawinter17
When it comes to faith and religion... we really need to just leave one another alone. Let people just do what's best for them.
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